Letter: Strong leadership lacking at the top
Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2005 | 9:02 a.m.
Throughout the years that I spent in the Marine Corps, the fundamentals of leadership were always stressed. A leader must know the jobs of the people he is expected to lead better than anyone else. A leader must first be a follower. A leader must pick qualified people to serve below him. A leader must be continually improving himself.
We knew for days that powerful Hurricane Katrina was going to hit the Gulf Coast. Michael Brown, the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or President Bush, needed only to turn on the news to see how bad the situation there was.
Instead of life-saving action, however, all that the Gulf Coast received was indifference and a lack of leadership. This lack of leadership could have been noticeable long before Hurricane Katrina was even a rain cloud in the Atlantic Ocean.
Before starting his work with FEMA, Mr. Brown had a laundry list of government and private service. However, as listed on both the FEMA Web site and the White House Web site, the only disaster type work that he was involved in was long ago, as an assistant city manager with oversight of emergency services. We all must ask ourselves: Does that type of work qualify you for top-level leadership in our federal emergency agencies?
We have the best infrastructure in the world to take care of our own citizens, but it was still boggled up. Why should anyone follow our lead on complex issues such as the war in Iraq? We have incompetent leadership at our top levels of government. This lack of effective leadership has destroyed every right we have to claim the title of world leader.
President Bush should admit his own gross leadership failures, dealing not only with his response to the disaster, but also in his choice of Michael Brown as FEMA director.
ELLIOT ANDERSON
archive
- Most Read
- Discussed
- Most E-mailed
- Corrections officer with Metro killed in U.S. 95 crash
- The pull of a drug, a push to the brink
- Was there an ulterior motive in parking the stripper-mobile?
- CityCenter hotel welcomes new employees with gala
- Harry Reid’s hopes hitched to health care reform bill
- Notebook: The Shark and LJ circle
- Forrest Griffin writes his own ending at UFC 106
- Reid clears major health care hurdle, daunting weeks ahead
- Politicians waste no time spinning latest jobless numbers
- What might result from a national airing of Ensign’s dirty laundry
Blogs
Robin Leach's Las Vegas Celebrity Watch
Photo Gallery: Donny’s correct prediction of Osmond vs. Osbourne
Politics: The Early Line
Sen. John Ensign affair to resurface on 'Nightline' (1 Comment)
The Greene Room
MWC Winners and Losers: Week 12 (1 Comment)
Culture and Entertainment
UFC 106 walk-in music: Griffin changes his tune, secures win over Ortiz
The Kats Report
For props, Lewis Black needs only his manic delivery and torrid material (9 Comments)
Elsewhere
Sands China raises $2.5 billion in Hong Kong IPO (2 Comments)
Marquardt v. Sonnen scheduled for UFC 109
- Live chat
- Tuesday, noon PST
- Chat with Krista Creelman
- Problem Gambling Center executive director Krista Creelman will answer questions about gambling addiction from Las Vegas Sun readers from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. ... Submit question
Calendar »
- 23 Mon
- 24 Tue
- 25 Wed
- 26 Thu
- 27 Fri
-
DJ Scooter at Prive
Prive | 10 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
-
Fabolous's birthday at Jet
Jet | 10 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
-
Mixology Monday at Downtown Cocktail Room
Downtown Cocktail Room | 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.
-
DJ Red at Tabu
Tabú Ultralounge | 10 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
-
The Automatic Tour at The Square Apple
The Square Apple
The Sun
Locally owned and independent for more than 50 years.
Technorati













